Worth Less?: Why Men (and Women) Devalue Care-Oriented Careers

Abstract

In the present research, we applied a goal-congruity perspective – the proposition that men and women seek out roles that afford their internalized values (Diekman et al., 2017) – to better understand the degree to which careers in healthcare, early education, and domestic roles (HEED; Croft et al., 2015) are devalued in society. Our first goal was to test the hypothesis that men, relative to women, are less interested in pursuing HEED careers in part because they are less likely than women to endorse communal values. A second, more novel goal was to extend goal congruity theory to examine whether gender differences in communal values also predict the belief that HEED careers add worth to society and are deserving of higher salaries. In three studies of undergraduate students (total N = 979), we tested the predictive role of communal values (i.e., a focus on caring for others), as distinct from agentic values (i.e., a focus on status, competition, and wealth; Bakan, 1966). Consistent with goal congruity theory, Studies 1 and 2 revealed that men’s lower interest in adopting HEED careers, such as nursing and elementary education, was partially mediated by men’s (compared to women’s) lower communal values. Extending the theory, all three studies also documented a general tendency to see HEED as having relatively lower worth to society compared to STEM careers. As expected, communal values predicted perceiving higher societal worth in HEED careers, as well as supporting increases in HEED salaries. Thus, gender differences in communal values accounted for men’s (compared to women’s) tendency to perceive HEED careers as having less societal worth and less deserving of salary increases. In turn, gender differences in perceived societal worth of HEED itself predicted men’s relatively lower interest in pursuing HEED careers. In no instance, did agentic values better explain the gender difference in HEED interest or perceived worth. These findings have important implications for how we understand the value that society places on occupations typically occupied by women versus men.

Gender in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: Issues, Causes, Solutions

“…Such qualities are therefore viewed as incompatible with the communal group-serving values that women (more than men) appear to endorse (Diekman et al, 2015). Analogously, evidence points to men avoiding communal group-serving environments (e.g., healthcare, early education, and domestic work) because these careers are viewed as incompatible with both the status-based and self-serving values that men (more than women) appear to endorse (Block et al, 2018).…”

How to Foster Male Engagement in Traditionally Female Communal Roles and Occupations: Insights from Research on Gender Norms and Precarious Manhood

“…As noted, one of the main drivers of male engagement in communal roles are gender norms socializing men to be less communal than women (Martin & Ruble, ; Wood & Eagly, ). Boys’ and men's relatively lower communal values have been shown to explain lower family aspirations in young boys, as well as lower interest in HEED careers in men (Block, Croft, & Schmader, ; Block, Gonzalez, Schmader, & Baron, ). In order to reduce barriers to men's communal engagement then, the most basic and necessary level is to start early, with less gender‐rigid socialization of boys.…”

Communal Motivation

“…These findings can be explained by work showing that general and partner-specific communal motivation are linked to increased positive emotions in daily life (Le, Impett, Kogan, Webster, and Cheng 2012), greater feelings of authenticity when caring for others (Kogan et al 2010;Le and Impett 2015), and decreased perceptions of costs involved in caring for a partner (Day, Muise, Joel, and Impett 2015). Regarding gender differences, although men may experience barriers, devalue, and have misconceptions about taking on communal roles (Block, Croft, and Schmader 2018;Croft, Schmader, and Block 2015; Van Grootel, Van Laar, Meeussen, Schmader, and Sczesny 2018), the well-being benefits linked to communal motivation are observed in both men and women (Le, Impett, Lemay, Muise, and Tskhay 2018). Importantly, communal motivation is linked to greater personal well-being for the self and relationship partners only to the extent that people do not lose sight of their own needs.…”